Northland Highlights

Here are some sundry things that we particularly liked that we encountered during our Northland trip. This isn't to disparage anything not mentioned, but these are particularly notable things:

Aron on boat in Bay of Islands

New Zealand Rent-a-Car, Whangarei Branch. NZ Rent-a-Car is a franchised operation, so I can't speak for the whole company, and my parents had a less stunning (if acceptable) experience with the Auckland Airport branch. The Whangarei branch, though, was a pleasure to deal with. While the branch is located in town, Willie was waiting at the airport for us with the car parked curbside. He thoughtfully went over all the details, took time to make sure we knew where we were going, gave us a number where we could contact him 24 hours a day, and sent us on our way in no time at all. On the way back we get to leave the car in the parking lot and just go; very convenient. Another nice touch was a packet of mints in the car when we got it. Also, the car was quite nice. I don't believe it was the subcompact I reserved, but was instead a comfortable and roomy Suzuki, very new.

Bay of Islands 1

Schnappa Rock Café, Tutukaka. This restaurant is by the Marina in the coastal village of Tutukaka, not far from Whangarei. On first encounter it looks like it would be a mediocre touristy party place, but turns out to be a relaxed-but-elegant restaurant with some really nice food. Sheila was particularly happy about the Dory and mashed potatoes.

The Galley, Monganui. A classy and pleasant café along the Monganui waterfront, with nice food and friendly service. They had an excellent entree of scallops done in aoli, with greens, green onions, pears, and avocado with a french mustard dressing.

Waterfalls. Sheila is always a big fan of waterfalls, and Northland has its share. Particularly nice were Whangarei Falls in, yes, Whangarei, and Rainbow Falls in Kerikeri.

Bay of Islands 2

Dolphins. We've seen dolphins several times before, but the ones we encountered in the Bay of Islands were the most playful and fun yet. Even Aron, usually ambivalent about aquatic mammals, was rather charmed by them. With this your mileage may, of course, vary. Our tour was with Dolphin Discoveries, which appear to be the 500-pound gorilla of Bay of Island boat tours, but they were pleasant to deal with and the boat was large and nice.

Cape Reinga. It's way up there, but yes, it is worth the drive.

Kaleidoscopes. One of the many art galleries around Kerikeri is a guy who makes kaleidoscopes. It sounded like it could be neat, but it turned out to be really cool: in addition to the kaleidoscopes you're used to, there are 'dancing' kaleidoscopes with objects bouncing around on a speaker, and (we think coolest of all) bubble kaleidoscopes, where you see ever-changing colors refracted by the film of a soap bubble. Psychedelic! The artist seems as excited by them as we were. The gallery is halfway down Waipapa Road, not far from the turnoff to Rainbow Falls.

Hole in Rock 1

Hole in Rock 2

Hole in Rock 3

Dolphin in Bay of Islands 1

Mother and dolphin

Dolphin in Bay of Islands 2

Dolphin in Bay of Islands 3

Dolphin in Bay of Islands 4